Female referee Frappart makes history by taking charge of men’s Super Cup

FrancesStephanie Frappart made history by becoming the first female referee to take charge of a major European mens game in the Super Cup on Wednesday.Frappart is the foremost female official in the world game having refereed the Womens World Cup final in July as well as mens matches in Ligue 1.She was part of an all-female officiating team with assistantsManuela Nicolosi from Italy and Irelands Michelle ONeill for the all-English clash between Liverpool and Chelsea.BackgroundMatch officials Manuela Nicolosi, Stephanie Frappart and Michelle ONeill lead out the teams (Nick Potts/PA)Frapparts appointment was welcomed by managers and players from both teams ahead of the match.Chelseas Frank Lampard said: Its great news. I am very pleased to be a part of this moment in history. It is very much due.Liverpool counterpart Jurgen Klopp also described the appointment as overdue, saying: I think its time.Its the first one, its special, but I hope its not the last time.Reds defender Virgil Van Dijk, meanwhile, said: Gender is irrelevant and if the quality is there and it is because shes been appointed to this game for a reason then thats fine. I think she deserves this game.ControlFrappart with Liverpools Mohamed Salah and James Milner (Nick Potts/PA)Frappart had a comfortable evening with few flash-points or moments of dissent from players.She did not issue a card until the 79th minute when she booked Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta for a foul on Sadio Mane. Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson also went in the book for a foul on Emerson.The Frenchwoman kept up with play throughout the match and will consider her nights work a success.DecisionsFrappart signals a free-kick after Christian Pulisics goal was ruled out for offside (Peter Byrne/PA)Frapparts assistants took centre stage with three excellent decisions.First Christian Pulisic ran through before finding the net apparently to make it 2-0 to Chelsea but the flag went up to indicate the United States international was offside, which was confirmed by VAR.Early in the second half, Chelsea appealed for offside against Roberto Firmino as he set up Mane for the equaliser but the flag stayed down and a VAR check showed the decision was again correct.Chelsea then had another goal chalked off when the flag went up to deny Mason Mount, another call that was supported by technology.Frapparts most contentious call came very early when an acrobatic effort from Mane hit Andreas Christensens arm but it was from very close range and no penalty was given.(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){

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